Missing, but not in action; Absent, but with leave.

[Tod Marr]

The Denga Duna spacestation was a dream come true for Tod; strip clubs, bars, hotels, casino's, the lot! He'd been on scheduled leave from the squadron for almost two weeks now, and would be returning back to the Termagant in a few days. And since he wouldn't be on leave again for quite some time, he decided that he would end the vacation on a high-note by spending it in the lap of luxury. After cleaning up in several other of the less grand casino's, he'd checked out of the hotel he was staying at - the modest Rimbel Nights Hotel - and relocated his stuff, and his winning, to the ostentacious penthouse suite of the galactically renowned Serena Towers.

It was either that or Montana Mountain, but the fact that Serena Towers was owned by the gorgeous daughter of a stupidly-rich entrepreneur persuaded him, especially once he found out that Callista Serena was actually staying at the hotel for the next week. He was sure that if he met here and turned the charm on then this fortnight of leave would be the best fortnight of his life.

Well, except for perhaps that fortnight on his home planet of Corellia with the two Ithorian Monks and the Twi'Lekk locksmith, but thats another story!

Here he was - Serena's Sunspot - the hottest casino on the station. And he was raking in the credits. After owning the wannabe's at the minor tables and games, Tod attracted the desirable attention of a group of powerful-looking gentlemen at the central Sabacc table - enough even to warrant an invitation into a high-stakes sabacc game.

"Well, I'm not that good but I guess I can hang with you guys, sure!"

There were various camera's in place with crews around them, which meant only one thing - the game was going to be LIVE on holonet! How awesome was this!? Tod, live on holonet in a high-stakes sabacc game! And he was gonna win too! Once he was seated and introduced to the other players, Tod noticed that one of the many spectators was Callista Serena - recently split from her long-time racing boyfriend Pleb Dorson (another hot-headed Corellian). Despite coming from the same planet and sharing the same spacefuel-blood as Tod, Pleb could never live up to be the kinda guy that Tod was. Tod had it all - the looks, the charm, the physique. Face it, Tod was the Man!. And he was gonna rock tonight!

[Bette Davis]

"Down in front!" Lieutenant Commander Bette Davis lobbed a stress ball at the unfortunate pilot who was standing in front of the holoscreen. "This is my favorite movie." The squishy plastique sphere bounced off his head, and the ensign quickly got out of the way.

She put her feet up on the table in front of her in the pilot's lounge, nearly kicking over someone's beer. The movie, about killer vegetation from far off planets doing battle with enormously oversized insects, was just getting to the best part. The hero was taking the govenor to the underground shelter -

"Welcome to the Worlds Series of Sabacc!"

"What the frell! Karzai!? Was that you?" Bette knocked over the beer in her haste to get to her feet and find the remote control. "Who changed the channel!?" She tripped over the chair she'd been sitting in and crashed into another pilot who was juggling a tray of contraband food from the mess.

[Saul Karzai]

"You see..." Karzai smiled, staring down at the sprawled Bette, "That's what you get for losing at 'Dren' and Pazaak to me. I told you it'd come back to bite you in the butt."

He picked up the chair 'Shooter' had just tripped over and righted it, his own beer quite cold in his hand. Plopping down in his chair, the Imperial Pilot scratched his forehead briefly before taking a swig from his drink.

"I get to watch the World Series of Sabaac" a bit of a cheer came up from several other Imperials in the lounge.

"And you get to watch."

He threw a look over his shoulder, "Who knows...you might learn something."

[Tod Marr]

"...and Tod Marr, a young Corellian who seems to have made quite an impression over the last few days, here on Denga Duna Station. Apart from his successful streak in various other casino's this week, Marr is a relative unknown in professional Sabacc, although he does have some renown in the extreme racing circles of Tatooine, Malastare and other centres of swoop, pod, air and space racing. It seems as if his piloting skills speak for themselves, but tonight we'll see just how he handles himself behind a deck of cards in this, the two-hundredth and eighty-ninth Denga Duna High Stakes Sabacc Tournament!"

The image of Tod chatting with his fellow players and the spectators closest to him faded into a wider shot of the entire casino interior. A human in an expensive-looking suit was to one side of the image.

"Exciting stuff indeed. Well don't go away because we'll be right here after this commercial break!"

[Saul Karzai]

"What the frell?" Karzai almost dropped the remote as he recognized Shadow Squadron's missing pilot.

"Hey Shooter...Shooter!" Bette's back was turned as she was currently removing the drink from some ensign's hand. She turned back towards the screen just before the show went to commercial.

'Sithspit' pointed to the screen, "I thought he was dead..."

[Bette Davis]

ooc: its called posting order, Saul ... /ic:

"Dead?!" Bette turned to look at the screen, and laughed, "Don't be so melodramatic, Karzai. Tod's just on leave - he's due back in two days." She patted the other pilot's head, ruffling his hair. "I know it feels like forever, but don't worry, your boyfriend will be back soon."

She hooted with laughter, and then remembered that Saul had changed the channel on her, and hit him upside the back of his head.

[Tod Marr]

The heat was on and the stakes were really high, and Tod was twice as horny! He'd already won three consecutive rounds and was relaxing mid-way through the fourth. He leaned back in his chair a little, making eye contact with the delightful Callista Serena. He gave her a playful wink before being told it was his turn.

He raised the current bet by five thousand credits before turning back once more to the velvet-clad heir of Serena Towers. He beckoned her closer with a nod. She giggled to herself as she shuffled through the crowd until she was as close to Tod as possible, behind the modest barrier separating the high-stakes table from the rest of the casino. She leaned over and was about to speak when someone called the round.

Tod grinned, then winked at Callista before turning round once more. He casually flipped over his two cards: the Eleven of Coins and the Commander of Sabres

The crowd cheered as Tod collected his fourth lot of winnings that night from the Hand pot. Camera's flashed all around for various tabloids and, news broadcasts and gambling channels for Holonet. Just before the next hand was started, the crowd let out another cheer as he handed over enough credits to buy the entire casino a round of drinks. A newscrew were broadcasting live just a few metres away. They swung the camera around to catch the crowds reaction at Tod's generosity before zooming in onto the man himself. Tod smiled, aimed at the camera with his fingers and pulled invisible triggers before giving a reassuring smile...

"I love this game!"